Critical Perspectives on Housing

The overwhelming majority of writing done in the field of housing today is based on the erroneous assumption that either the nation's housing problems are not overly serious or long-lasting or that adjustments in market mechanisms and slightly modified government housing policies can correct the existing problems. "Critical Perspectives on Housing", a collection of thirty-three articles, sixteen of which have been specifically written for the volume or are being published for the first time, attempts to dispel those illusions and set forth concrete proposals for change. Written by leading scholars and activists in the country today, the articles examine such diverse elements of the housing picture as the construction industry, gentrification, the homeless, abandonment, the market's ability to serve minorities and women, the income tax system, rural housing problems, suburbanization, and the actions of the Reagan Administration.The articles are divided into three sections: The Workings of the Private Housing Market; The Role of the State; and Strategies for Change. "Critical Perspectives on Housing" moves beyond the analytic perspective, however, by advancing a range of alternative approaches to help solve the housing crisis. These approaches are augmented by a survey of current and historical approaches taken by other governments and societies to address the crucial problems of their people's housing needs. Rachel G. Bratt is Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy at Tufts University. Chester Hartman is currently a Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. Ann Meyerson is Assistant Professor in the Metropolitan Studies Program at New York University.